Monk (season 3)

The third season of Monk originally aired in the United States on USA Network from June 18, 2004, to March 4, 2005. It consists of 16 episodes. Tony Shalhoub, Ted Levine, and Jason Gray-Stanford reprise their roles as the main characters, and Traylor Howard joins the cast. Bitty Schram left the show due to a contract dispute during the Winter hiatus. A DVD of the season was released on July 5, 2005.

Monk
Season 3
DVD cover
Starring	Tony Shalhoub Bitty Schram Ted Levine Jason Gray-Stanford Traylor Howard
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	16
Release
Original network	USA Network
Original release	June 18, 2004 – March 4, 2005
Season chronology

Crew

Andy Breckman continued his tenure as show runner. Executive producers for the season include Breckman and David Hoberman. NBC Universal Television Studio was the primary production company backing the show. Randy Newman's theme ("It's a Jungle Out There") continued to be used, while Jeff Beal's original instrumental theme can be heard in some episodes. Directors for the season include Randall Zisk, Jerry Levine, Michael Zinberg, and Andrei Belgrader. Zisk received an Emmy award-nomination for his work on "Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine." Writers for the season included Andy Breckman, David Breckman, Lee Goldberg, William Rabkin, Joe Toplyn, Daniel Dratch, Hy Conrad, and Tom Scharpling.

Cast

Tony Shalhoub returned as the titular character and OCD detective, Adrian Monk. Ted Levine and Jason Gray-Stanford reprised their roles as Captain Leland Stottlemeyer and Lieutenant Randall "Randy" Disher, respectively. Bitty Schram portrayed Monk's nurse, Sharona Fleming, for the first half of the season, but left due to a contract dispute. Traylor Howard was then cast as Natalie Teeger in a main role as Monk's new assistant. Andy Breckman, the show's creator, stated, "I will always be grateful to Traylor because she came in when the show was in crisis and saved our baby [....] We had to make a hurried replacement, and not every show survives that. I was scared to death."[1]

Guest stars for season three are in even more abundance than the previous two. Stanley Kamel reprised his role as Monk's psychiatrist, Dr. Charles Kroger, in nine episodes, while Kane Ritchotte continued to play Benjy Fleming, Sharona's son. Emmy Clarke entered the series as Julie Teeger (Natalie's daughter), and Melora Hardin returned as Monk's beloved deceased wife, Trudy Monk. Tim Bagley made his first two appearances as Harold Krenshaw, Monk's main rival. Jarrad Paul portrays Kevin Dorfman, Monk's annoying upstairs neighbor, while Glenne Headly continues to portray Karen Stottlemeyer, the captain's wife. Other guest stars for the season include Brooke Adams, Scott Adsit, Kelly Albanese, Amy Aquino, Moon Bloodgood, James Brolin, Emma Caulfield, Jonathan Chase, Maree Cheatham, Enrico Colantoni, Frank Collison, Alicia Coppola, Carmen Electra, Patrick Fischler, Rosemary Forsyth, Sutton Foster, Neil Giuntoli, Michael A. Goorjian, Parker Goris, Harry Groener, Eileen Grubba, Saverio Guerra, Bob Gunton, Philip Baker Hall, John Michael Higgins, Rick Hoffman, James Intveld, Sung Kang, Chris Kennedy, Edward Kerr, Korn, Lance Krall, Olek Krupa, Mako, Ken Marino, John Maynard, Larry Miller, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Glenn Morshower, Lochlyn Munro, Niecy Nash, Arthel Neville, Patrick Thomas O'Brien, Raymond O'Connor, Nick Offerman, Faith Prince, David Purdham, Judge Reinhold, Mark Sheppard, Nick Spano, Josh Stamberg, Nicole Sullivan, Alanna Ubach, Jill Wagner, Michael Weston, Mykelti Williamson, Adam Wylie, and Rachel Zeskind. The band Korn also makes an appearance.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
30	1	"Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan"	Randall Zisk	Andy Breckman	June 18, 2004	5.54[2]
Monk, Sharona, Stottlemeyer, and Disher fly to New York in order to pursue a lead in Trudy's murder. They are sidetracked into helping the NYPD solve the shooting death of a foreign ambassador in a hotel lobby and a mugging in Central Park, with Monk briefly getting lost in the city as he ponders the importance of a wet overcoat. Once the cases are solved, he meets with Warrick Tennyson (Frank Collison), who admits that he was paid to build the bomb that killed Trudy by a man with six fingers on one hand.
31	2	"Mr. Monk and the Panic Room"	Jerry Levine	David Breckman and Joe Toplyn	June 25, 2004	4.70[2]
The police find a music producer shot to death in the locked panic room of his own mansion and his pet chimpanzee holding the murder weapon. Sharona steals the animal from police custody to keep it from being euthanized and stashes it at Monk's house, driving him to distraction as he tries to work out how the victim's wife (Carmen Electra) might be involved.
32	3	"Mr. Monk and the Blackout"	Michael Zinberg	Daniel Dratch and Hy Conrad	July 9, 2004	4.55[3]
A bombing at a power plant leads to a citywide blackout in which three people die, and the prime suspect is an activist who has apparently been dead for nine years. The case is further complicated by a second bombing and blackout, the death of a protester (Judge Reinhold) at a construction site, and a power company spokeswoman (Alicia Coppola) who takes a romantic interest in Monk.
33	4	"Mr. Monk Gets Fired"	Andrei Belgrader	Peter Wolk	July 16, 2004	4.68[4]
Nursing an old grudge against Monk, the new police commissioner (Saverio Guerra) revokes his private detective license and fires him from his consultant's position with the SFPD. Monk is devastated, but still cannot resist trying to find the connection between the discovery of a woman's limbless torso, a case of arson at a wig shop, and two attempts to steal the commissioner's hat.
34	5	"Mr. Monk Meets the Godfather"	Michael Zinberg	Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin	July 23, 2004	4.73[4]
A mob boss's nephew is killed in a shooting at a barbershop, prompting him to turn to Monk for help in finding the culprit. Reluctantly taking the case at the behest of an FBI agent (Rick Hoffman), Monk is drawn into a brewing mob war and must figure out how a missing gumball machine and a report of valuable coins missing from the United States Mint tie into the crime.
35	6	"Mr. Monk and the Girl Who Cried Wolf"	Jerry Levine	Hy Conrad	July 30, 2004	5.40[5]
Plagued by repeated visions of a man with a bloody knife in his chest and a screwdriver jammed in his ear, Sharona begins to think she is having a mental breakdown. She takes some time off and hires a temporary replacement (Niecy Nash) who quickly grates on Monk's nerves, but all three are soon drawn into a murder based on a story Sharona has written.
36	7	"Mr. Monk and the Employee of the Month"	Scott Foley	Ross Abrash	August 6, 2004	5.77[6]
When the longtime Employee of the Month at a local department store dies, Monk's former partner (Enrico Colantoni) – fired from the SFPD for allegedly stealing drugs from the evidence room and now in charge of store security – calls him in to determine if the death was a murder. Monk starts working at the store in order to figure out whether and why any of the other employees may have wanted the victim dead.
37	8	"Mr. Monk and the Game Show"	Randall Zisk	Daniel Dratch	August 13, 2004	4.85[7]
While Sharona is out of town, Trudy's father Dwight (Bob Gunton) invites Monk and Kevin Dorfman to Los Angeles to look into his suspicions of cheating on a game show that he produces. The trip revives Monk's bittersweet memories of Trudy as he ponders the death of the assistant to the show's host (John Michael Higgins) and unearths evidence of blackmail and murder. Tony Shalhoub is the only main cast member to appear in this episode, as the others were involved in contract disputes at the time.
38	9	"Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine"	Randall Zisk	Tom Scharpling and Chuck Sklar	August 20, 2004	5.88[6]
The SFPD launches a citywide manhunt after Stottlemeyer is shot and wounded on the job with a gun belonging to a woman who has just committed suicide. Feeling overwhelmed by his OCD, Monk starts taking a new medication to control his symptoms, but it causes a drastic personality change and hinders his ability to find a connection between the two incidents. Final regular-series appearance of Bitty Schram as Sharona Fleming.
39	10	"Mr. Monk and the Red Herring"	Randall Zisk	Andy Breckman	January 21, 2005	5.50[8]
Now that Sharona has moved back to New Jersey and remarried her ex-husband, Monk needs to find a new assistant. He discovers that bartender Natalie Teeger might be perfect for the job, but must first figure out why two men who recently broke into her house - one of whom she killed in self-defense - were trying to steal her daughter Julie's pet fish. First appearance of Traylor Howard as Natalie Teeger.
40	11	"Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra"	Anthony R. Palmieri	Joe Toplyn	January 28, 2005	4.10[9]
The author of an unflattering book about a martial arts movie star is murdered in his own home, and evidence at the scene seems to implicate the star - who has supposedly been dead for six years. Monk's working relationship with Natalie and his life both come into danger as he tries to find the common thread linking this crime to an unsolved jewel robbery.
41	12	"Mr. Monk Gets Cabin Fever"	Jerry Levine	Hy Conrad	February 4, 2005	5.00[9]
When Monk witnesses a gang murder, an FBI agent (Josh Stamberg) puts him into the United States Federal Witness Protection Program to keep him safe until he can testify against the shooter. Taking shelter at a remote cabin in the woods, and accompanied by Natalie and Stottlemeyer, Monk becomes convinced that a woman in a nearby cabin has killed her husband. Meanwhile, Disher begins dating a woman (Moon Bloodgood) who convinces him that fortune cookies can predict the future.
42	13	"Mr. Monk Gets Stuck in Traffic"	Jerry Levine	Tom Scharpling and Joe Toplyn	February 11, 2005	5.02[10]
Monk, Natalie, and Julie get caught in a huge traffic jam caused by an overturned car with a dead body behind the wheel. Making the acquaintance of a down-and-out lawyer (Larry Miller) and receiving an unexpected tip from the band Korn, Monk uncovers a feud between an environmental activist and a construction company owner that may have led to murder.
43	14	"Mr. Monk Goes to Vegas"	Randall Zisk	Tom Scharpling, David Breckman, Daniel Dratch, and Joe Toplyn	February 18, 2005	5.40[11]
Stottlemeyer drunkenly calls Monk from Las Vegas during a friend's bachelor party, claiming to have proof that a millionaire casino owner (James Brolin) murdered his wife. Monk and Natalie arrive to find him badly hung over, with no memory of what he did at the party or why he thought he had solved the case, and must also stop Disher from going broke at the blackjack table.
44	15	"Mr. Monk and the Election"	Allison Liddi	Nell Scovell	February 25, 2005	4.85[12]
Natalie's campaign for a seat on the school board is marred first by a sniper attack on her campaign headquarters, which barely misses her and leaves a security guard dead, and later by a grenade thrown through her living room window. Suspicion falls first on Harold Krenshaw (Tim Bagley), Natalie's opponent and another of Dr. Kroger's patients, but Monk suspects that the culprit's motive may go beyond local politics.
45	16	"Mr. Monk and the Kid"	Andrei Belgrader	Tom Scharpling	March 4, 2005	4.44[13]
Stottlemeyer calls Monk in to investigate when a toddler finds a freshly severed human finger in a park. Monk surprises everyone by volunteering to take the boy into temporary foster care, and determines that the finger belongs to a kidnapped concert violinist who is being held for ransom.

Unfilmed episodes

One episode that was written but never filmed for the first half of season 3 would have been an episode called "Mr. Monk Is At Sea". The premise would have been that Monk and Sharona would investigate a murder committed on a cruise ship. A script was made for the episode, but it was never filmed because no cruise line was willing to loan a ship to the production crew to use for shooting, out of sensitivity to the idea of murders being committed on-board or people falling overboard. They refused to budge even when the victim count was reduced and the killer's identity was changed. This script became considered the series' "white whale" or 126th episode. It only came to light in early 2014, when it was rewritten and published by Hy Conrad as Mr. Monk Gets on Board, which maintains most of the original plot, but substitutes Natalie for Sharona, and adds in a subplot involving a book collector.

Awards and nominations

Emmy Awards

• Outstanding Actor - Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, won)
• Outstanding Directing - Comedy Series (Randall Zisk for "Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine", nominated)

Golden Globe Awards

• Best Actor - Musical or Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, nominated)

Screen Actors Guild

• Outstanding Actor - Comedy Series (Tony Shalhoub, won)

References

1. Kaufman, Joanne (January 9, 2009). "Here's What Happened: How Natalie Rescued Monk". The Wall Street Journal. News Corp. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
2. Fitzgerald, Toni (June 30, 2004). "Monk, tics and all, is USA's main man". Media Life Magazine. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
3. Romano, Allison (July 13, 2004). "USA's Missing Persons Find Big Audience". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
4. Fitzgerald, Toni (July 29, 2004). "July's hot cable surprise: Nick at Nite". Media Life Magazine. Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
5. Romano, Allison (August 3, 2004). "USA Records Dramatic Victory". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
6. Fitzgerald, Toni (September 9, 2004). "In a rainy August, a hotter FX Network". Media Life Magazine. Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
7. Romano, Allison (August 17, 2004). "USA Gets Cable Ratings Gold". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
8. Becker, Anne (January 25, 2005). "Monk Debut Tops Cable". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
9. "Development Update: February 9". The Futon Critic. February 9, 2005. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
10. Vasquez, Diego (February 16, 2005). "For NBC, it's also the little blunders". Media Life Magazine. Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
11. Becker, Anne (February 23, 2005). "TNT Shines with All-Stars". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
12. "Cable Series by Total Households: week of 02/21/05-02/27/05". Zap2it. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
13. "Cable Series by Total Households: week of 02/28/05-03/06/05". Zap2it. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on March 14, 2005. Retrieved March 23, 2014.